The Gift of Aberdeen
Much to Pat’s enjoyment, breakfast this morning was buffet-style, so she got to pick out every element of her morning repast. We all enjoyed the meal (well, most of the meal - Rosanna said her muffin was dry - Pat tried it and said iit wasn’t dry, just weird).
After I retrieved the car, and we loaded up the suitcases, we headed out for an abbreviated tour of Aberdeen. This was where Walt’s ancestors came from, so it was meaningful to him to see some of his origins. “If it weren’t for Aberdeen, I wouldn’t be here.”
When we stopped to take some quick pictures at King’s College, there wasn’t a great spot to park, so I stayed in the car, and the rest of the crew got out to see the surroundings and take pictures. The “quick photo stop”, as Carrie described it, turned into a long exploration of Kings College. Unfortunately for me, the spot I had found to wait was smack-dab in the middle of the zone the bus drivers claimed as their personal fiefdom. After waiting there unmolested for quite a while, apparently one of the bus drivers had had enough of the foreign interloper. He came up to my window, informed me that I could get a £100 fine for being in the area, and I was interfering with the buses. I told him I was happy to leave, and he just stood there at my door. I repeated my willingness to leave, and he continued to stare at me. After I was about to say “if you move, I will move” and he finally went back to his bus, and I was able to pull away from my trespassing spot.
As soon as I pulled away from the curb, one of the buses ahead of me let loose a flow of passengers previously unseen in human history. Eventually, their tour guide told his people to wait, and motioned me forward so that I could exit the area. I found some parking spots that said “Parking with Permit Only” and figured I could retreat before before a ticket could be written.
After another pregnant pause, I finally got a response from my text to Carrie that I had moved. Once my crew made it back to the car, we tried to pull away, but that same tour guide’s gaggle of tourists (what do you call a group of tourists? I think it should be a Hive, as they swarm with no seeming mindfulness, and frequently sting) surrounded our vehicle. They continued streaming down both sidewalks and the street. Once there was enough of a gap, I slowly pulled out. If I had been driving my car, I would have excused the zombie-like ignoring of the car, as it is very quiet. However, It was quite clear to anyone nearby, that a motorized vehicle was very close behind them. Once the final obstacle , er…human, stepped out of the road, I was able to exit the area, and return to glorious, car-centric streets.
Next stop was a super historic bridge with an insane name - Brig o' Balgownie. Though the builder of the bridge is disputed, it was completed around 1320, around the time of the Scottish War of Independence.
We left there to start our long drive towards Inverness. We stopped at Pennan, a small old fishing village. We walked along the scenic pier, and stopped at a cool little coffee stand. The proprietor was warm and welcoming. We had hot chocolates, and I got a coffee, and some freshly baked goods - Scones with clotted cream and jam, and Pat got a coconut, lime cake. We got some awesome photos, and enjoyed the cool breeze. As we were prepping to leave, one of our seagull models dive bombed our car. Since my window was open, the door, steering wheel, and my jeans received collateral damage. Luckily, Pat was there to save the day with some handy wet wipes.
We loaded back up to visit another seaside fishing village - Crovie. To visit there, you have to walk down a pretty steep, so we got some photos from the overlook. After some photos, we loaded back up to continue on. Findlater Castle was closed. Even the road was closed, so we couldn’t even get photos.
We headed on to Bow Fiddle Rock. We hiked a bit down to see the rock formation, as well as the seagulls. I stopped and chatted with a nice Scotsman with a beautiful dog. I complimented him on the dog’s training, and he said - “She’s only doing that because I have a biscuit in my hand.” I got permission to pet her, and she was super sweet and friendly. He asked about our trip, and was fun to talk to.
After everyone was done, we headed off to our next stop - the Scottish Dolphin Center…which was closed. We stopped in the parking lot to take some pictures, and maybe see dolphins. Carrie got an awesome shot of an osprey with a fish in its talons.
We were all getting a bit tired (especially the driver), so we began the 2 hour trek to our B&B on the shores of Loch Ness. We drove through Inverness, and though it is not as big as the cities we have left behind, it was still a bit hectic, and my stress level greatly reduced upon exiting the city limits.
We found our B&B, and once we determined we were actually in the right spot, Carrie and I went inside to check in. While giving us the nickel tour, our host saw that the farm’s Highland Coos were up close, so he let us get a preview of our Highland Coo Experience. Carrie was the brave one to feed the very friendly and cute animals, who also have prodigious tongues.
After sanitizing herself, we saw our rooms, and unloaded the car. We had some rest time before our dinner reservation, so the chauffeur was happy to partake. Once it was time to leave, we went to have dinner. While some were a bit hesitant at the few choices, the dinner was very good, and we were filled.
Back at the farm, we worked the pictures, and I wrote the blog. While today’s content wasn’t as epic as other days, due to the long drives, It adequately represents our adventure. Good Night, Johnboy.
